Karnataka High Court denies bail to man accused of raping, forcing woman to convert to Islam

The Karnataka High Court recently rejected the bail application filed by a man accused of confining and raping a married woman and forcing her to convert to Islam..In an order passed on July 3, Justice S Rachaiah of the Dharwad bench of the Karnataka High Court rejected the bail application filed by one Rafiq.The single-judge also said that he wants to send a message to the society that courts are vigilant in regulating forced conversions and guarding the underprivileged..“It is needless to say that, while considering the bail applications, the factors which are required to be considered are nature of offence, gravity thereof and societal impact etc., In the present case, the act of inducing innocent and poor women and forcibly converting to Islam is a serious development and therefore, in order to avoid such bad development, it is necessary to give message to society that Courts are vigilant to regulate such activities and also guarding the innocent and underprivileged women and children of the society,” Justice Rachaiah said..As per the order, Rafiq had befriended a married woman belonging to the Scheduled Caste community and had taken her to Belgavi on the pretext of getting her a job. Once there, he threatened the woman, raped ger multiple times, kept her confined to a room and forced her to convert to Islam.The woman finally managed to escape and narrated the entire incident to her husband..The couple then went to the Police after which the accused was arrested and booked under the Indian Penal Code, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022.Rafiq approached the High Court after his bail was rejected by a trial court..Advocate Mahantesh S Hiremath appeared for Rafiq.Advocate Praveena Y Devareddiyavara appeared for the State government.Advocate SR Hegde appeared for the woman, the defacto complainant in the case.